Introduction
The focus of this research project is weather Sani Pass should be tarred or not.
This steep road was first built in 1948 by Godfrey Edmunds, who saw the opportunity to trade with the Basotho people who live in Lesotho. The people formerly travelled by foot and donkey down into South Africa to trade their products such as sheep wool and homemade products. This road was built following the contours of the river and this caused major problems such as flooding and snow or ice on the road, causing a loss of livestock and lives.
The road being so dangerous was reconstructed by a man named David Alexander; this is the road we use today. It is still a steep gradient path and a 4X4 vehicle with very skilled driving is required to get up and down this pass. Currently the pass is not entirely tarred, only phase 1 has been tarred and this took 5 years.
Location
Sani Pass is a remarkable 8km mountain road between the border posts of South Africa and Lesotho, this is the only border post between Lesotho and Kwazulu-Natal. (Figure 1)
Aim:
To investigate whether Sani Pass should be tarred or not, this will be examined by observing the advantages and disadvantages of the socio-economic and climate factors.
Hypothesis:
The negatives of tarring Sani Pass outweigh the positive impacts.
Factors to Investigate:
Social:
• the impact on tourism.
• the impact it will have on the Basotho people’s trade.
• how it will affect the Basotho people in terms of education and health.
Environmental:
• physical impacts: mass movements.
• climate: rainfall, snow and ice.
Economical:
• impact on local business in Lesotho and South Africa.
• the impact on trade.
• the impact on tourism agencies in Lesotho and Underberg.
Sequence of Inquiry:
In...
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... both the socio-economic and environmental factors outweigh the negatives on tarring Sani Pass. A large number of primary and secondary research was used, some supporting my hypothesis while others contradicted it. My interview with Dr Kinwig mainly contradicted my hypothesis as he was completely for tarring Sani Pass and believed there were essentially more positives than negatives.
Limitations
- I did not conduct any questionnaires and send them to local touring companies or business owners in Underberg and Lesotho, if I had done so, my outcome may have altered.
- I only interviewed one person, he may have been biased and this may have skewed my results slightly. More interviews with various different stake-holders in and around Sani Pass should have been completed.
- A few of my articles were rather old and the information on it could have been out-dated.
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